Labyrinth Exploration 101 - L.E Chapter 8 (Part 1): I Hate Pain (3)

Mage Seo Ji-woo arrived at the waiting room.

It was an empty space with only a handful of chairs scattered about. She’d torn her escape card, and this was where it brought her—no one else was around.

“Number 131, Mage Seo Ji-woo. Please take a seat.”

In front of her, PD Kim A-rang spoke.

That meant she was the top-ranked mage.

Seo Ji-woo plopped down in the frontmost chair with a wide grin. *Haaaah~* She yawned while waiting.

About five minutes later, the second-place contestant appeared.

“Number 130, Mage Ryu Yeon-hwa. Please take a seat.”

Ryu Yeon-hwa. His hair looked dyed white at a glance, but it was, astonishingly, naturally platinum.

Being from the same agency, Seo Ji-woo had half-expected this.

“Oho! You got here fast, huh?”

Seo Ji-woo smirked slyly, but Ryu Yeon-hwa’s expression stiffened.

He sat down one seat away from her.

Next came the third-place contestant, Ji Woon-yul, a promising mage from Termion.

“Hey! Ji-woo! I knew you’d snag first place~”

This guy always acted like he knew everyone, and it was annoying.

“Yeah.”

“No surprise there. I figured when I didn’t see you—”

“Yeah.”

“Even in thirty minutes—”

“Yeah.”

Fourth was Ryu Wei, fifth was Ichiko, sixth was Yoon Hwa-rim… and so it went, until the tenth-place contestant showed up.

And there he was—the guy with that ridiculous broom-like hair.

The half-crazy one I only half-expected.

*Tap. Tap.*

Seol Ha-woon limped in, leaning on his cane, and sat down.

“Ahem!”

Seo Ji-woo crossed her arms. She shot him a dissatisfied glance but decided he wasn’t worth her attention.

No, giving him attention would be admitting defeat. *I’m a mage with a bright future, and he’s just some nobody solo trainee.*

“…Alright. Time’s up.”

Exactly three hours later, Kim A-rang clapped her hands.

Only about fifty mages remained in the waiting room. The rest had naturally been eliminated.

“Now, we’ll move to the next location~”

Kim A-rang gestured, and the mages followed her to another area. It was a long, track-like space.

Roughly 50 meters wide and a kilometer long—its end was barely visible.

“What’s this place?”

The track was cluttered with obstacles: human mannequins, monster mannequins, wrecked cars, a set designed like a crumbling building, archery targets, and more.

“As you can see, it’s pretty chaotic, right? This set’s crammed with every situation where you mages can shine. You can use any magic to show off your skills. The starting point is right here.”

Kim A-rang pressed her foot firmly on a line on the ground.

“You must not cross this line.”

Mages, by nature, operated from a distance. Their coverage outclassed every other role.

From afar, they oversee the battlefield, disrupt enemies, or support allies. That’s the role of a pure mage.

“So, who wants to go first?”

“Me~”

Seo Ji-woo raised her hand and stepped up to the starting line.

“Alright. Number 131, Mage Seo Ji-woo.”

“Here I go.”

She flicked her finger. *Snap.* A long, thin line appeared, stretching across the track and reaching a child mannequin being attacked by a monster.

The distance was exactly 300 meters.

“Hup!”

Seo Ji-woo pulled the line, and in the blink of an eye, the child mannequin was pulled into her arms.

“It’s a [Line] spell. How was that?”

She glanced at Kim A-rang. The assistant raised an eyebrow.

“Very nice. Next.”

“I’ll go.”

A leather jacket stepped up right beside Seo Ji-woo.

Ryu Yeon-hwa.

He fixed his heavy gaze on the distance.

*Shhhh…* Mana coiled beneath the track’s surface, then—*KABOOM!* The ground erupted, swallowing a monster mannequin whole.

It was about 100 meters out.

“Offensive mage. Good. Next.”

“I’ll do it!”

Ji Woon-yul, Ryu Wei, and others followed suit, each showcasing their magic.

Amid the flurry of mages displaying their skills—

“Aren’t you going?”

Ryu Yeon-hwa suddenly turned to Seo Ji-woo. She’d finished first but stood there with her arms crossed.

Tilting her head, she shot back, “What’s it to you?”

“I thought you went first to get it over with… Never mind. Do as you please. I’m going.”

“What a guy—starting a conversation then bailing. Don’t you ever analyze the competition?”

Ryu Yeon-hwa’s lips twitched faintly at her words.

“There’s no mage left at my level worth analyzing.”

It was a fair assessment, more or less, but Seo Ji-woo still had someone she wanted to watch.

“Fine. Go. Bye. Get lost.”

She waved him off like swatting a fly.

“…….”

Instead of leaving, Ryu Yeon-hwa stayed put, crossing his arms as if refusing to budge.

Seo Ji-woo let out a dry chuckle.

‘This weirdo’s always checking me or copying me. He looks normal enough, but apparently everything I do looks good to him.’

“Next. Step up, please.”

That’s when it happened.

“I’ll go.”

The broom-haired guy stepped forward.

‘Not that I’d been waiting for him, exactly—just curious to see how well he’d do.’

His name was Seol Ha-woon, right? He took his place at the starting line and closed his eyes.

“Hooo…”

He struck a pose and took a deep breath.

“What’s with warming up his mana like that?”

Seo Ji-woo muttered under her breath, amused. Ryu Yeon-hwa snorted, but Seol Ha-woon focused intently, channeling his mana.

He prepared his own vision.

“The form of mana.”

He’d hesitated at first.

What ability should he showcase, and how. What image to project, and how to project it.

Then, out of nowhere, old David’s words surfaced like an answer.

*The power of magic depends on how vividly you visualize it. Using familiar objects makes it easier.*

So, the landscape he could most vividly imagine now was…

The imagery that filled every inch of ‘him’—

A battlefield.

Dangun

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